@d.grayson ( text )

[identifier]

anyone else trying to cross the river? we should pool our resources.

Comments

[hext]

Cops aren't always the good guys,

[ her tone is mild, but distant. she recalls the bruises around her neck. but she returns to the present soon enough a low sound, a chuffed out laugh. ]

My psionic energy allows me to levitate, to fly — what I mentioned to you earlier. You hold onto me, I carry you, we have a good vantage point to scope the route along the way. Not simply the destination.

[ she pauses to reflect for a moment, looking down at her hands now, loose at her sides and fingers flexing like little spiders — then back up to the sky. mapping a trajectory. ]

I can also create a psionic field that will allow me to levitate more than one person. But I have not tested it here.

[ her eyes land back on him, blunt force behind them. ]

Not all here trust what I can do.

[identifier]

[ being held in the air places him at a disadvantage. he can fall. he can swim. but it is less certain than kyna's teleporting.

he frowns. ]

The ones with great power have to be willing to earn others' trust. You don't have to tell me everything, but there are things I need to know.

[ this applies to him as well. he's aware there is rot in the police department. most of them are thugs with badges. dick's attitude keeps people at bay. but he knows the difference between being trusted and being liked.

he has grown up beside superman and wonder woman. it's important that people like them. and relate to them.

it's not important that people like him. he's nobody. a shadow. ]

And what I need to know is: how long can you maintain that psionic field?

[hext]

[ she tilts her head, taking a step toward him, one eyebrow arched in the faint blue glow ghosting out from his lantern. ]

You do not need to teach me lessons I already learned in my former life.

[ her smile returns but half, just a little teasing. ]

What — you don't want to go for a romantic flight under the moon, Dick? Holding onto my neck like a new bride?

[ he's all business, yes, but somewhere in there she thinks there's a sponge worth that can have a bit of fun. and who's to say teleporting can't go madly wrong in a place like this? one false move and one or both of you is splinched, or lost in some other dimension. ]

[identifier]

[ they will still need to earn trust. that is a reality. he can't change it because people are afraid of her.

people are always afraid. though dick is not: he has one fear. it drives him. ]

Cute.

[ a smile tugs. but he presses it down. he is all business right now. ]

If you can try it, I'll time you.

[hext]

[ she can't control their fear.
only her own.

wanda nods, feeling lighter — she's wanted to get this done with someone she feels won't betray her, to begin with. and she knows, somehow, he will not. ]

Two tests, if you will be so kind,

[ she says, backing up several paces and rubbing her hands together (not for warmth, but for sensation, for endorphins, for trust in herself and for banishment of the night), ]

...one with me alone. And one with you as my company.

[ her legs brace themselves apart, knees slightly bent, hands hovering at her sides. she peers at him for his consent or denial. ]

[identifier]

Let's see you try on your own first. [ she can do what she says she can. but dick has never seen her ability. he would prefer to observe. to know what to expect.

he steps back. starting a mental timer. ]

[hext]

[ she licks her lips and actually laughs — her chest expands with it, she's excited, ]

Yes, of course, one thing at a time—

[ and then everything is silence, focus, and the smile on her face seems to soften into a deep, retreating memory... everything becomes small and clear and so lucid— from her hands, the faintest color: red, rich, scarlet filaments that glow faintly... were they anywhere else but this town, the glow would be stronger, fiercer, like dynamite spreading. the wafts of it spread and build and create a shape around her, and soon it isn't only coming from her fingertips, the palms of her hands—

soon enough it comes from her feet, her body, the very fibres of her hair. an entire sphere of softly glowing scarlet energy, the light so faint, not throwing itself like it should in any normal world, but the color is the same as her lantern, that much is certain.

wanda's eyes close as a feeling of relief washes over her when the sphere closes and finally lifts into the air — the weightlessness is so freeing, she should have tried this sooner, witness or no witness.

she opens them again to look down at dick as the energy field carries her higher, as she flies, nearing the tops of the trees surrounding their clearing. concentration lets the audio barrier down, and she beams at him, her hair gently floating around her, ]

I can't wait for you to try this.

[identifier]

[ one mississippi. two mississippi. three and four. and on. he keeps count as he watches the spider like filaments spread out.

her ability is a matter of concentration. therein is the weakness. not different from taking down a green lantern. dick does not hope it won't come to that. he accepts the possibility. there is too much risk.

telekinesis and other unknowns. rachel was always so nervous and scared. ]

Having fun. [ he observes this dryly. she's showing off. this place affects powers, but dick has never had special abilities. he worked for everything he received. the adrenaline rush must be different. but he's been in the air with donna. and clark has taken him up up and away many times.

he has an idea of how to proceed. ]

I need to know the heaviest thing you've lifted. And for how long.